    Psalm 49
1    Hear this, all you peoples;  ♦
listen, all you that dwell in the world,
2    You of low or high degree,  ♦
both rich and poor together.
3    My mouth shall speak of wisdom  ♦
and my heart shall meditate on understanding.
4    I will incline my ear to a parable;  ♦
I will unfold my riddle with the lyre.
5    Why should I fear in evil days,  ♦
when the malice of my foes surrounds me,
6  Such as trust in their goods  ♦
and glory in the abundance of their riches?
7    For no one can indeed ransom another  ♦
or pay to God the price of deliverance.
8    To ransom a soul is too costly;  ♦
there is no price one could pay for it,
9    So that they might live for ever,  ♦
and never see the grave.
10  For we see that the wise die also;
with the foolish and ignorant they perish  ♦
and leave their riches to others.
11  Their tomb is their home for ever,
their dwelling through all generations,  ♦
though they call their lands after their own names.
12  Those who have honour, but lack understanding,  ♦
are like the beasts that perish.
13  Such is the way of those who boast in themselves,  ♦
the end of those who delight in their own words.
14  Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die;
death is their shepherd;  ♦
they go down straight to the Pit.
15  Their beauty shall waste away,  ♦
and the land of the dead shall be their dwelling.
16  But God shall ransom my soul;  ♦
from the grasp of death will he take me.
17  Be not afraid if some grow rich  ♦
and the glory of their house increases,
18  For they will carry nothing away when they die,  ♦
nor will their glory follow after them.
19  Though they count themselves happy while they live  ♦
and praise you for your success,
20  They shall enter the company of their ancestors  ♦
who will nevermore see the light.
21  Those who have honour, but lack understanding,  ♦
are like the beasts that perish.
